This is How Liberty Dies
by His Majesty the Emperor
Summary: How eloquent. How melodramatic. How incorrect. What you think implies that liberty has just now died while these scatterbrained puppets applaud my coronation as Emperor. Liberty died long ago. It died when you made me Chancellor. It died when you foolishly allowed Binks to be your proxy and he gave me my emergency powers. I am merely ridding myself of all pretenses.


Star Wars is the property of the Walt Disney Company (I know, I haven't gotten over it either). You know the drill; I don't own a thing and I'm not making a single penny off of this. These are just the ravings of my imagination. Please review.

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_"So This is How Liberty Dies; with thunderous applause."_ Senator Padme Amidala, Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

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Thank you Senator, thank you for all of your help. None of this would have been possible without you. It is all because of you; the cheering masses, praising _me_ as I pronounce the death of the Jedi, the death of democracy, and the death of your beloved Republic. It is those same people who cheer as I announce the birth of the New Order, my Empire, which shall last for ten thousand years. They cheer me as I proclaim myself Emperor of the Galaxy. And it is all because of you. None of this could have happened without you. And for that, you have my thanks.

You were always an intelligent young woman, and yet, so willingly foolish, so naïve, so _idealistic_. You honestly thought that someone as insignificant as yourself could actually change things. You honestly believed that you could revive the remembered glory days of the Republic. It would be funny if it were not so pathetic. Those days are long since past and they will never return, I have made sure of that. You were so desperate to see the good in others that you lowered your guard, not seeing the writing on the wall until it was far too late.

You have been most useful to me though, of that I cannot deny. You were so young when the Trade Federation invaded Naboo all those years ago, young and easily manipulated. All it took was a few carefully chosen words from yours truly, and Chancellor Valorum was being thrust from power. And it is all because of you. Your call for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum was the straw that broke the Bantha's back, forcing the Senate to finally remove that doddering old fool from power. Your desperate call for salvation from the Federation Droid Army was all it took to secure my nomination and election as Supreme Chancellor. Sympathy is such a wonderful tool to exploit, after all. You played your part beautifully, though you had no clue of the true scope and depth of what was occurring.

You would prove to be useful to me again, years later, long after you had ceased being Queen and had become a Senator. Your infatuation with the boy and your trust in that oaf Binks solidified my position of power and made any attempt to remove me impossible. While you were off gallivanting across the Outer Rim with Skywalker (no doubt spewing horrendous romantic drivel at each other along the way) the Separatists were preparing for war, just as I had planned. By appointing that moronic Gungan as your proxy you left me with the perfect pawn by which I could achieve my emergency powers. He was so easy to guilt into giving me these emergency powers. And you appointed him as _your _representative, _your _voice. You had become the leader of the peace movement, and here was your proxy, your most loyal follower, speaking on your behalf, saying that the Clone Army had to be approved. It was enough to silence the pacifists in the Senate. After all, if Binks speaks for Senator Amidala in her absence, and he says that war must happen, it was just as good as if you yourself had said it. The pacifists, like the sheep they were, fell in line with what they thought their leader wanted. You became the lynchpin upon which the entirety of the peace movement was hung. When your proxy gave in to the calls for war, they all gave in.

You don't seem very happy Senator. One doesn't need the Force to know how upset you are. The anguish is written plainly on that pretty face of yours. What are you thinking, I wonder?

"This is how Liberty Dies; with thunderous applause."

How eloquent. How melodramatic. How incorrect. What you think implies that liberty has just now died while these scatterbrained puppets applaud my coronation as Emperor. Liberty died long ago. It died when you made me Chancellor. It died when you foolishly allowed Binks to be your proxy and he gave me my emergency powers. I am merely ridding myself of all pretenses and disposing of the corpse.

How does it feel Padme? How does it feel to know that your entire life, all of your values, all of your struggles and sacrifices amount to absolutely nothing? Does it hurt? Does it enrage you? Sadden you?

You always prided yourself as an independent woman. And independence is indeed an admirable quality. But you were never an independent woman. No matter how hard you worked, no matter how many futile sacrifices you made, no matter how deeply you committed to your values, it was always another's hand that has guided you and used you, _my_ hand. Everything that you thought you had accomplished and earned I gave you. Everything you have ever lost or been denied access to was because of me. I made you, and now I am going to break you. And I think that is what hurts the worst, am I right? To finally realize that your entire existence has been a sham, a stepping stone utilized by the very thing you despised the most to catapult that thing into absolute power.

Like everyone else in this galaxy Padme Amidala, you exist to serve me. Everything that you have done in your miserable life has been to further my own ends. The most pathetic thing of all is that, as the last flickering embers of the Republic are extinguished before your very eyes, that great deceiver hope still fools you. Even as I declare my New Order, you still hope that I can be stopped someday. You hope that you can figure out what is going on. You hope that you can convince your precious husband to see the light and join you in opposing me. You hope that the damage can be undone.

But it can't, my dear. Trust me when I say there is nothing that you can do. The Republic is dead. And like a phoenix from the ashes my Empire rises. There is no hope for you. Nothing you say or do can change any of this. The billions who have been butchered in this war, the clones, the freedom fighters, the officers, and the countless civilians who died, they died because of you. Their blood is on your hands. It's ironic. To be a pacifist so devoted to the cause of peace and yet have so many die because of your actions.

You have served your purpose well, my Lady. But I have no further use of you. You are now an unwanted loose end, not to mention the only possible thing that could conceivably keep Anakin from fully embracing the Darkside of the Force. It is time for me to cut your strings, my puppet.

But what happens to puppets after their strings have been cut, you ask?

Why, they fall lifelessly to the floor, never to get up again.

So my old friend let me say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, for none of this could have been possible without you. And may I be the first to wish you a Happy Empire Day.


End file.
